Category Archive

Is the current reality just transitory? Forecasting is a worthy activity, because it requires people to think about the future. However, be careful about accepting forecasts until you know how the forecast is structured and source of the data used. For supply chains, which are geopolitical in structure, the forecasts say that changes will happen, but the unknown is where … Read More

Suitable solutions in Planning Because an organisation’s relationships within its supply chains differ to those of other businesses, it is not advisable to promote a single solution for a situation in supply chains. However, there are various approaches that supply chain professionals should have that enables the most suitable solution to be identified. To provide some background to the selection … Read More

‘Bullwhip’ effect The ‘Bullwhip’ effect is Demand Amplification, where a change in demand at a Node in a supply chain has a more substantial change in demands further upstream in the chain. Orders placed on suppliers tend to have a higher variability than sales made to buyers. Retail stores place orders on warehouses (owned or at wholesalers) can reflect ‘just in … Read More

AI deliverables By mid-2023, there were at least 50 start-up companies in the US, rated by Forbes magazine as the most promising in development of AI technologies. There are also several promising AI start-ups in other countries. If there are promising start-ups, there must also be those that are less promising, so watch out for dubious ‘blue sky’ promises about … Read More

Corporate and Supply Chain Scenarios The previous blogpost discussed Scenario Planning at the corporate level, with four scenarios having the most potential over the next five years. The referenced article provides possible actions at the strategic level, with a focus on economic, business and finance. Depending on the culture and structure of the organisation, there are two options for the … Read More